Fortenova: Amsterdam Court Again Dismisses All Claims of Sanctioned SBK Art, General Meeting of Depositary Certificate Holders to Proceed as Planned

On Friday, December 15, 2023, a hearing was held before the District Court in Amsterdam where SBK Art LLC and the alleged owner of this company, UAE national Saif Alketbi, as well as a person who recently acquired depositary certificates of Fortenova Group, filed various claims against Fortenova Group TopCo B.V. and other parties involved in the proposed transaction for the sale of Fortenova Group MidCo B.V. Essentially, the plaintiffs sought a postponement of the second General Meeting of depositary certificate holders scheduled for December 19, 2023, according to a statement from Fortenova.

Today, December 18, 2023, the District Court in Amsterdam issued a summary decision dismissing all claims of SBK and others. The ruling briefly means that the plaintiffs’ efforts to postpone the General Meeting of depositary certificate holders have failed and that the meeting at which depositary certificate holders will vote on the proposed sale of MidCo will proceed as planned. In this way, the so-called vexatious litigation by the sanctioned entity SBK Art and the alleged owner of this company Saif Alketbi has now been dismissed by the Dutch judiciary for the fourth time, according to Fortenova.

Additionally, SBK and others have appealed their previous unsuccessful attempts to intervene in the corporate structure of Fortenova Group to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. On December 15, 2023, the chief advisor of the Supreme Court advised the Supreme Court to dismiss the objections raised in two appeal proceedings by SBK and others, thereby confirming all previous positions of Fortenova Group and reaffirming the position of SBK Art as a sanctioned entity prohibited from exercising voting rights. The Dutch Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on these appeals by May 31, 2024, according to the statement.